Tanzanite.com is a joke - don't let them have the last laugh

Location: Ontario, Windsor
Industry: Retail
Annoyed By: Tanzanite.com (C.H.Hakimi, Inc.)


Below is a description of my interaction with tanzanite.com, one of the worst companies with whom I have ever engaged in a business transaction. In a word, my experience with tanzanite.com was horrific. Another apt description would be infuriating. To say that customer service is not a priority to them is giving them far too much credit. I spent an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to make the best of the situation – correcting or compensating for THEIR mistakes – and they simply did not care. The worst part, to me, was the fact that I was buying a wedding band for my (future) wife. A wedding is obviously an event that carries a great deal of meaning, and having a well-crafted and beautiful wedding band is an important element of the day. It was purchase that I did not take lightly.

Unfortunately, as you can follow from the timeline below, things started to take a turn for the worst within a week of the purchase. In the end, I was just one insignificant customer who represented an inconvenience to a company who takes no pride in making a bad situation good. After the whole episode was over, I literally ended up paying for nothing, both monetarily and with wasted time. Right now, I feel like they won. They lost nothing, except for one angry customer. I feel like I lost so much more. And that is why I am writing this posting – vindication for myself, and hopefully the chance to steer unsuspecting potential customers away from a cesspool of deception and incompetence. If I can divert even one paying customer to another website or jewelry store, then I would feel this posting is worthwhile.

Original Order Date: 11/12/2008 (via Internet)
I ordered a tanzanite and diamond ring via their internet site. The site is well-organized, the search works well, and the pictures are generally visually appealing. Most of their standard rings are 14K white gold. I decided to upgrade to an 18K white gold ring, adding a marginal additional cost. The price of the ring seemed very reasonable, even less than I had expected to pay. I needed to receive the ring by Nov 28th in order to give it as a birthday present on the 29th. At the time I did not expect this to be a problem, as the website states, "Tanzanite.com offers you free shipping on all orders over $199 via FedEx Express Saver®. Shipments usually arrive within three to five business days."

Little did I realize at the time (and this is partially my fault) that by upgrading to 18K gold I had actually created a 'Special Order.' Special Orders are not included in the shipping description above. I suppose I should have just known that "all orders" really means "all standard orders". Then again, a reputable company would probably mention that special orders are not processed or shipped nearly that fast.
I proceeded to check their website every few days to view the status of my order. When it became clear that the order had not been shipped within the suggested period, I contacted the company again via the free-form email boxes on their website.

Email #1 (from me): 11/18/2008
I informed the customer service department that I needed the order by Nov. 28th, and asked if there was any way (including paying additional fees) to expedite the order.

Response Email #1 (from tanzanite.com): 11/19/2008
In summary, they communicated that the estimated ship date would be Dec. 10th. (28 days from the original order). I was given the option to exchange (downgrade) 18K White Gold with 14K White Gold, essentially reverting back to the 'standard order'. If I accepted this proposal, I would receive a refund on my credit card for the difference in price. Additionally, the ring would then be shipped so that I could receive the order by my target date.

At this point, although I was disappointed, I had no recourse, so I decided to downgrade and take the standard ring.

Email #2 (from me): 11/19/2008
I responded to their email later that same day, agreeing to the order change. I requested information on the new shipping date.

Email #3 (from me): 11/21/2008
After a day and half of no email response, I sent another email. I wrote a message very similar to Email #2 above.

Email #4 (from me): 11/21/2008
Another half day went by and I heard absolutely nothing. This time, I resent the message, but sent it to the generic customer service email address that is provided on the 'Contact Us' page of the website.

Call #1 (from me): 11/24/2008
I had now waited 5 days (3 business days) and not gotten any response whatsoever. I gave up on email communications since they were apparently not working. It seemed extremely interesting that a .com company would not do a better job of monitoring and responding to customer emails. Since all orders are placed via phone or the internet, would it not be common sense that those forms of communication be given high priority? Apparently it was only the initial order (and payment) that was important. Regardless, I made a call to the company and reached the "customer service representative". I use that term loosely, since I couldn't tell if I was actually talking to a representative of the company. There was nothing to the effect of, "This is tanzanite.com, how can I help you today?" I definitely got the impression that the woman A) Hated her job B) Hated me and C) Would definitely rather not be talking to me. The idea that this woman was potentially taking orders, helping to answer questions, or even worse, resolving issues, is absolutely comical. After describing my situation and explaining that I could not get an email response, she agreed to change the order over the phone, and revert the order to 14K gold. I was overjoyed that I could even get a response at all, so I generally overlooked the fact that to receive my order by my target date (November 28th), I needed to pay for overnight shipping. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, I needed to pay an additional $19.95 for overnight shipping to get the ring on time. Of course, the reality of the situation was that if I had received an email response on the 19th, I would not have needed to pay this expense, and the order would have been delivered in time, just as was promised in their original email response.

Response Email #2 (from tanzanite.com): 11/24/08
I received an email communication from the same person who originally sent me the response on the 19th. Laughably, he apologized because he had been "out of the office for a few days." That is when I first learned that tanzanite.com has a customer service department of 1. He was writing to follow-up that the order had been changed, and would be shipped out on the 26th (now a standard order but still required over 24 hours to ship out, I assume for the resizing).

Order Received (by me): 11/28/08
The package was delivered. Upon opening it, I was fairly happy with the looks of the ring. It was pretty, but not very robust. I had my fiancée's engagement ring custom made at a local jewelry store, and that ring looked solid and high-quality. This ring did not compare, but then again I had paid much (thousands) less for it. So overall I was happy with the product.
The wedding was December 6th. Less than 48 hours after the ceremony, we were in the airport heading off for the honeymoon. Right after we got the airport, my wife looked at her ring and was shocked to see that one of the tanzanite stones had simply fallen out of the prongs. The ring had not been subjected to any excessive stress; it was almost like brand new. As of December 8th she had to stop wearing the ring.

Call #2 (from me): 12/17/2008
I called the customer service department to find out what I needed to do to return the ring. I, of course, knew I had nothing to worry about since tanzanite.com jewelry carries a 5-year warranty:
"All fine diamond, colored gemstone, platinum and gold jewelry purchased from Tanzanite.com. is warranted for (5) years from the date of purchase. All fine jewelry is genuine, authentic, and of consistent high quality and value." Surely a company claiming consistent high quality and value would go out of their way to uphold such a fine reputation.
The customer service representative informed me that I could ship the ring back, where it would be inspected to determine if there truly was a defect which caused the stone to be lost. I can understand why they would need to inspect the jewelry before agreeing to a repair or replacement; that is good business. However, there was no mention of the shipping costs, which, with tracking confirmation and insurance, rang up to a total of $12.75. Apparently that wasn't their problem or concern.

Defective Ring Shipped (by me): 12/19/2008
I sent the ring back with a note to the customer service representative, asking him to keep me apprised of the situation. I actually wrote that I would be happy with either a repair or replacement, that I would leave that choice up to the "experts" based on their ability to recreate the ring's condition when it was new. The next week was the Christmas holiday, so I was not expecting a speedy response. I guess I should rephrase – since next week was the Christmas holiday, I was just hoping for any response.

Defective Ring Delivered (to tanzanite.com): 12/22/2008
Checking the postal service tracking website, I was able to confirm the delivery date.

Email #5 (from me): 12/29/2008
After waiting 7 days from the delivery date and hearing absolutely nothing, I thought it was time to send another message. I sent an email to the generic customer service address given on the website, asking them to confirm that the shipment had been received.

Order Received (by me): 12/30/2008
Without any prior contact, confirmation, or communication, I was stunned to see the delivery man at my door holding a package from tanzanite.com. My wife and I were so excited that we got the ring I didn't even hold it against them that they never once gave me any idea of the return order status. That excited feeling died a speedy death. We opened the box to find the 'new' ring. The ring was not new, but in fact repaired. That was not a problem; I had stated in my note that repairing it was a viable option. What was a problem was that the ring looked like it had been purchased for $20 at a local flea market. The third stone had been replaced, but apparently by a child. A jeweler with any skills or pride would not have given approval to ship the ring we received that day. Looking at the ring from the side, the third stone was clearly set lower than the other 2 existing stones. And the third stone did not appear to be the same size as the other two. The ring just looked bad. We knew immediately that it needed to go back.

Call #3 (from me): 12/31/2008
I called customer service, and to say that I was livid was probably an understatement. My favorite female customer service representative answered (see call #1 on 11/24). To summarize, she told me that I needed to call back at a different time (preferably January 5th or later), because it was a holiday week and no one was there. That is, no one who had any authority to make decisions or actually attempt to help rectify the situation. Needless to say, I don't see any "Customer Service Rep of the Year" awards in her near future.

Call #4 (from me): 1/5/2009
I called again to talk to the lone service representative who had been handling my order up to this point. I need to take a brief diversion at this point, to illustrate how phenomenally professional this company is: when I called the toll free number listed on the website trying to reach the customer service rep, I was actually automatically routed to an individual's personal voicemail. Even better, the message on the voicemail was such a mumbled mess and lacking enunciation that it was nearly impossible to tell what the person was even saying. I found that to be classic. How appropriate was it that after all my experiences in dealing with this idiocy, that the company's toll free number for orders, customer service, EVERYTHING, was being routed to a personal voice mailbox in which the person could not be understood? For a minute I thought the company might have actually went bankrupt and the phone number was being used by someone else. [I digress]
Luckily I found a backup number to reach the company's directory switchboard, so I was able to get through to the representative. I explained the entire situation to him, and let him know the ring was, in no uncertain terms, completely unsatisfactory. At this point I told him that I was no longer interested in keeping any ring manufactured by tanzanite.com, or for that matter, having any interaction with their company. I demanded that I receive a full refund, not only for the ring itself, but also the shipping costs I had incurred to date.
First, he had to verify with his supervisor whether or not a refund would even be approved, since the company policy is to only allow refunds up to 30 days after the purchase date. After conferring with the supervisor (who I found out was also a relative, as most of the company employees are), they determined that after I shipped the ring back to them again, they would examine it to determine whether the "repaired" ring truly warranted a refund. They also agreed to provide their FedEx shipping account number, so that I could mail the ring back for free this time. I didn't really see these actions as going above and beyond the bare minimum in order to maintain the company's integrity and ensure a positive customer experience.
I told him I did not find their resolution acceptable, and that they owed me the money I had spent. His only response was to apologize repeatedly. Apologies seem a little hollow when there is no proactive action to back them up. I finally told him that I wanted to be done with this entire episode so badly that I would accept losing the shipping costs, if they would give me the refund. Even without a verbal guarantee to refund my purchase, I sent the ring back for a second time.

Defective Ring Shipped (from me): 1/6/2009
The ring was shipped back a second time with the manufacturer's appraisal and a copy of the original invoice.

Defective Ring Delivered (to tanzanite.com): 1/8/2009
Checking the FedEx tracking website, I was able to confirm the delivery date.

Response Call #1 (from tanzanite.com): 1/8/2009
Amazingly, this time the customer service rep handling my case actually called me. He had promised during my previous call that it would in fact be his supervisor who would inspect the ring and then follow-up with a call to discuss the refund. Regardless, I suppose I should feel both honored and thrilled to be contacted at all. I missed the call but called him back within the hour. He said the company/supervisor had determined that I could be granted a refund, for only the original purchase price of the ring. The only shipping cost they agreed to cover was the one for which they had already paid, the second return shipment. I again let him know that to me, that was unacceptable. There was not much else to say so the conversation ended, after he indicated that a credit would be forthcoming.

Credit Card Account Credit Transaction Date: 1/8/2009

Credit Card Account Credit Posting Date: 1/12/2009
I think that here I will have to give the company the benefit of the doubt, and assume that it was the banks that caused the 3-business day delay in the actual posting of my credit.


I could go on further, and write more venomous words aimed at disparaging the name of tanzanite.com. The sad thing is, there are even more details which I omitted that illustrate their complete and total lack of professionalism. I believe, though, that the documented timeline speaks for itself. If there is nothing else that you take from this, then just know this: after the original order, I contacted the company 9 times; they contacted me 3. Is that a ratio that a reputable company would be proud to share? Does that sound like a company founded on integrity and excellence that is willing to stand behind the products they promote?

Two months to the day after I placed my order, I had no ring, 2 shipping expenses, and the lingering feeling of being completely screwed.

Before you place an order with Tananite.com, check out your local jewelry store or a site that you know and trust. It will be worth it. And if you really want to give your money away, then I still implore you NOT to navigate to tanzanite.com. Pick a favorite charity and give money to them – at least you will feel a lot better about yourself.

Brick or Prick

Location: Ontario, Scarborough
Industry: Retail
Annoyed By: The Brick @ Kennedy Commans


To Whom It Concerns:

Sequence of events: (HUF138EA) Invoice Number 121284K0517001

1) Purchased an HACN 13.8 Freezer white on December 12th, 2008

2) Was advised it would be delivered on December 23rd, 2008

3) December 22nd, 2008 rec'vd a voice mail advising us that the freezer was still not in stock and would get it on or around December 31st.

4) January 2nd, 2009 I called customer service and was on the phone from 5:15 pm until 5:45 pm explaining what happened and that the freezer had not yet been recv'd and then she tells me after 1/2 hr that she is only the receptionist (Kelly)and can't answer my questions. Asked to speak to a supervisor and she said that there was no one available, I asked her to have one call me back

5) January 2nd, 2009 the supervisor Cheryl called me at 7:30pm, she advised that it was still not in stock and the expected date was now January 15th, 2009. She could not guarantee anything though. I advised her that the same model was on sale at Leon's for $70 less and that they had them in stock so why wouldn't the Brick? She could not answer that but offered me $100 dollar credit which was fine

6) January 15th, 2009 we did rec'v the freezer, waited 24 hrs prior to plugging it is as the manual stated, then waited another 24 hrs for the freezer to reach temp level 4 as stated in the manual. When we went to look at it today the light works and the freezer doesn't, no cold air or freezing what so ever. The fan is very weak and all in all it is inoperable.

7) Called customer service at 2:40 PM January 20th to advise them that we recv'd a defective freezer, spoke with Najawa and the first thing she tried to do was to redirect my call to repair. I advised her it wasn't repair I am looking to speak with, I want a new replacement freezer as it is suppose to be brand new. She then advised me that there were none in stock and that they could be coming in on January 26, 2009 but there are no guarantees. She then said she could arrange for an exchange but couldn't give me a date or anything, To this point we had already given up a day to wait for the other delivery. She then said that she could arrange for me to get another type of freezer but I would have to come and look at them and pay the difference. Asked to speak with a supervisor and once again was greeted with "there is no one here right now" asked her to have the supervisor call me back

I am writing to you as I am at my wits end with something so trivial. Why on earth would your company sell something knowing full well that it isn't in stock and then to make matters worse could not give a solid date of delivery.

Another concern is that there are never any supervisors available to speak with right then and there. I would have to come to pick out a new freezer? Like I think not, if I am going to pick out another freezer then I will go to another company. Is this the customary type of service the Brick is known for? If so, then in today's economic crunch you will lose a lot of your business. As you know the old saying, "bad service spreads amongst people like wildfire" is this what you want for your company? Do the math, order purchased and paid for on Dec 12th, 2008 today is January 20th, 2009. This is a bit of a delayed timeframe and now I am losing money that could be sitting in my bank account collecting interest.

I would like to hear from you ASAP to rectify this issue.

who else? BEST BUY!

Location: Ontario, STC and Markville Mall
Industry: Retail
Annoyed By: BEST BUY

During the X'mas holidays, i wanted to purchase Little Big Planet. I saw it on sale for $49.99 at Best Buy, so i zoomed to the STC best buy.

I pick up one out of an entire stack of Little Big Planet cards when i was told they're sold out. SO i went to get a raincheck. They said they would call me once they had it in stock and i could buy it for $49.99. 2 weeks later, Best Buy had a sale on Little Big Planet for $44.99. OBVIOUSLY they had not called me when they had it in stock!

The 44.99 sale started next day so i go over to the Markville Best Buy at 10am (they open at 9am) to have them tell me. they sold out.! So i dash over to the Best Buy at STC and they too said it was sold out.....UNTIL I HELPED AN EMPLOYEE PICK UP AN EMPTY CARDBOARD BOX THEY HAD DROPPED. apparently there was "one more sitting in the back room".

never trust Best Buy....

Apple and Microsoft

Location: Ontario, Brampton
Industry: Technology
Annoyed By: Apple

I plug an iPod nano into my state of the art computer running Windows 2000 and I get a message I need to upgrade to iTunes 8.0 (7.3.2.6 on Windows 2000). My problem is...Apple carry on in their commercials about how "Windows friendly" their products are, well if that is the case, they should be supporting EVERY version of windows (from 2000 on, DOS based 98 and earlier really sucked). XP was actually built on top of 2000 (the core of XP is 2000) so I am inclined to believe that maybe Microsoft and Apple have a secret 'upgrade' collusion. Apple is no better than Microsoft, at least with building your own PC, you have a choice in hardware, etc. Apple's hardware is overpriced to say the least and the secret identifier chip on their motherboards just prove they are no better. F*ck you Apple and f*ck you Steve Jobs.

US-CREATIONS WEBSITE AVOID IT !!

Location: Other, New Delhi
Industry: Technology
Annoyed By: www.us-creations.com

Hello,

I'm writing this to share my bad experience with US Creations, a design and development firm based in New Delhi, India (www.us-creations.com)

First they will attract you proposing you really low prices for the services they offer, then they ask you to pay 50% of the price when they start the project and then nothing, they keep you waiting postponning the deadlines all the time, when after a while you ask for your money back because nothing was done they keep it in custody.

Avoid this company at all costs

Avoid Yang's Kitchen Sushi Bar in Markham! Police involved!

Location: Markham, Ontario
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed By: Yang's Kitchen mv md

The below thread is one of the "life long" thread in RedFlagDeals.com back in 2007 and it is still under hot discussions !

Hey RFD,

I just had the worst dining experience at Yang's Kitchen Sushi Bar tonight, which is on the plaza in front of the Volvo dealership in Markham.

It wasn't about the food, but was the management/ownership in question (as well as customer service). Basically, we had a brief and civilized talk with the owner in regards of a mandatory service charge attached to the bill. While we agreed to the mandatory charge (as it was clearly noted in the menu), we didn't agree to the tip being added on top of the taxes. I gave her my reasoning, and she simply said that there was nothing she could do - as it was hardwired into the computer (as they've been doing the same thing for years, without complaints). I asked politely, if she could waive the 3 dollar difference between tip on subtotal, and tip on after taxes - by just not paying the three dollars. She rudely declined.

I realized that there wasn't a point in further arguments, and simply told her that I'd pay the three dollars, but would not be returning again (in a polite manner). She left at this point.

When we were digging up money from everyone.. she came back - looking to argue some more! WOW, so I told you that I was going to pay your stupid three dollars - you're going to argue with me and further piss me off? She repeats the same thing over and over - that this was hardwired in the system, and that I had gone overboard by calling them "cheats". I never had said they cheated their customers, but only said that it was "unethical". I tell her that I had no intentions of resisting the charge anymore and insisted that the argument should end - with us never returning again.

She calls us cheap, and then continues to stand there, waiting for the money. After a bit, I told her that we're still waiting for someone to come back, as they left midway throughout the dinner and didn't leave their money. She informs us that "we're lucky that she hasn't kicked us out of her restaurant, as tables are limited to 1.5 hours seating time, as specified in the menu". I flipped to the menu, and informed her that it was "dining time" that was limited to 1.5 hours - and we weren't dining, but paying the bill. I told her, if you're going to force us out of the restaurant - we'll leave, but we don't have enough money at the moment - and this is all you'll be getting from us. Basically, I told her "either you wait for the money, or take it as it is". A few employees come over to see what's happening, and the owner is talking smack about us (such as "our mothers not properly teaching us", and how "we were troublemakers"). This was all spoken in front of us, so that we could hear everything (deliberately, perhaps?).

So since the other person was taking awhile, I decide to foot the bill with my credit card and get the money from the person later.. They tell me that their machine is down - and that I'll have to run to the bank for money. The owner informs us that only I'm allowed to leave - and the rest will have to stay (because she said we were going to run with the bill unpaid - basically calling us thieves). I do this, and take a charge of $1.50 from the bank.. come back and pay them.

At this point, I proceed to take my receipt - and they told me that we had already received one. I asked them if they could print off another one, and they told me that they were not going to - in the rudest tone of voice. I insisted that I was going to take it, as I needed proof that I paid them. She starts yelling and swearing at me as I proceeded to the door.. and actually told one of her employees to chase after me (who informed me to "watch my back, and just give back the receipt"). I continued to insist that I was going to leave with my receipt simply because they were obligated to give me one after payment. I grabbed my girlfriend and walked out the door.

Doing that, she goes completely insane. She starts screaming off her lungs - and told me if I left - I would be committing theft (of a receipt?), and she would be calling the police. This was probably the only time I raised my voice, to which I responded by yelling back "Go ahead! Call the police, we'll see what they say about everything! Call them, but I'm leaving!".

She runs out the door, and literally jumps on me.. and tries to grab at the receipt from my hands. I proceed to put the receipt in my pocket, and she continues to assault me - by punching me, and continuing to grab the receipt.

I walk away from her, and everyone is pretty much at disbelief at her actions.. I try to leave, but she tells me that I'm not leaving until I give back the receipt. She tells us that "we shouldn't eat outside, if we can't afford to pay for it" - after we paid in full ($250.36)! Because we're being held against our will, I take my phone out, and start dialing 911 - but hung up, as I didn't want to block up the emergency lines and wanted to actually call the non-emergency.

We have more arguments, and she's still yelling her head off.

Police calls back, and I informed them of the situation. Two cops come over, gave the owners a lecture on assault and holding people against their wills and they end up (forcibly) surrendering the receipt to me. Police ask if I want to press charges, but I said no - simply that I didn't want a measly three dollars to escalate into criminal charges being laid - and the potential ruin of an entire restaurant. I simply told the police that I wanted the owners to understand the magnitude of their actions, and that it won't happen again (to other customers).

They never even said sorry!

That said, I will never return - and I'm sure none of the people who were with me today would as well. I'm posting this story here, so that you're aware of the people running that restaurant.

Summary Notes:

* Yangs Kitchen Sushi Bar (4261 Highway 7, in Markham)
* Charged a mandatory tip on top of taxes, rather than on the subtotal
* Heated argument, and owner decided to talk personal smack about us
* Smack includes things like "our mothers not teaching us well"
* Absolutely rude, when we were being reasonable
* Failed to provide us with a receipt after payment
* After taking the receipt, owner swears and yells at us
* Owner continues to chase us out the door for the receipt and assaults me
* Owner holds us against our wills until the receipt is returned in the cold (at night)
* I call the police, and everything is sorted
* Do not visit this restaurant.

Stop Talking to the Machine. Get me a human !!

Calling any kind of customer support is frustrating. First, you have to find the right number to call. Then, you have to wade through an endless automated system.

“Press 1 for English ....”
“Please enter your account number....”
“Did you say blah blah blah blah ? ...”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t get that. Please try again ....”

Aargh! Just give me a person !!!

These systems make you want to throw the phone out the window. However,most customer support numbers have ways to bypass that nonsense. With a little help, you can go straight to a human !

Here is a consolidated list we found from gethuman.com, which is a database that offers customer support numbers of over hundreds of companies and the tricks in getting to a human representative:

COMPANY	PHONE NUMBER	THE TRICK
407ETR	1-888-407-0407	Just wait
Aeroplan	1-800-361-5373	Press 1, *.
Air Canada	1-888-247-2262	Press 1, 0, 0, 0, 0.
Bell Canada	310-2355 from any area code	After Emily asks you what you want … Just keep saying "Customer Services" (about 2 times)
Bell Mobility	1-800-667-0123	Press 0 at each prompt, ignore "Emily."
Best Buy Canada Ltd.	1-866-2378-289	Select language at 1st prompt. Then press 5.
Canada Post	1-800-267-1177	Press 0.
Canada Post	1-866-607-6301	Press 0.
canada revenue	1-800-959-8281	Press * at each prompt.
CIBC Visa	1-800-465-4653	Press 0, 0.
Designer Depot	1-800-521-2364	After language selection, just wait.
DHL	1-800-225-5345	Press 1, 1, 1.
Expedia Canada	1-888-397-3342	Direct to human.
Fedex	1-800-463-3339	Press 0 three times.
Fields	1-800-521-2364	After language selection, just wait.
Flight Center Canada	1-877-967-5302	Direct to human.
HBC Credit	1-800-263-2599	After selecting language, enter 16 digits at 1st prompt enter 8 digits at 2nd prompt. No callback after hours
HBC Gift Registry	1-877-408-1510	After selecting language, just wait.
HBC Rewards	1-800-844-8131	After selecting language, press 0#0#0#
HBC.com	1-866-746-7422	After language selection, press 1
Home Depot Credit	1-800-747-3787	Press ####.
Home Outfitters	1-800-521-2364	After language selection, just wait.
Presidents Choice	1-888-723-8881	Press 000.
Purolator	1-888-744-7123	Press 0.
RBC	1-800-769-2511	Just wait for a human.
Residential Tenancy Office	1-604-660-1020	Press 5, 1.
Rogers Cable	1-888-764-3771	press 0 at each prompt.
Rogers Prepaid	1-800-575-9090	Press 0 at each prompt.
Rogers Telephone	1-888-764-3771	Press 0 at each prompt.
Rogers Wireless	1-888-764-3771	press 0 at each prompt.
Sears Canada Financial Services	1-800-265-3675	Press 00 quickly.
Shaw Communications	1-403-750-6990	Press 0 at each prompt. After the 4th time, you will get to a human.
SunLife Financial	1-800-786-5433	Press 1, 0, 0.
TD Waterhouse	1-604-654-3700	Press 2, 2.
Telus - Internet Service	1-780-493-4404	Direct to human.
Telus Phone Service	1-780-493-4401	Direct to human.
The Bay	1-800-521-2364	After language selection, just wait.
Via Rail Canada	1-888 842-7245	Just wait.
Zellers	1-888-226-2225	After language selection, just wait.

ihatebadservice.ca

USA DentalCare is a huge Rip-off. Beware!

Location: Other, Internet
Industry: Health
Annoyed By: Entire company

This is an internet company. My son signed up Sept 11 08 for a reduced-fee dental plan then changed his mind and canceled on Sept 17 08.
We called for a refund and was told only the first month's fee would be refunded and the enrollment fee wouldn't be and that policy was listed on the website. My son would receive his refund in 2-4 weeks.
I checked the entire website and found nothing of the sort so I emailed them detailing this and requesting an entire refund. Email came back us undeliverable.
So I phoned them again, got an answering machine. Never received a call back.
I've been emailing and phoning them since Sept (it's now mid-Jan 09) and get no response at all and no refund.

Rip- off company. There's no way to contact them, no business address. You get directed to a live chat page but no representive comes online.

www.usadentalcare.com is the URL.

UTi Worldwide agent resorts to physical threats to competitor

Location: Other, Worldwide
Industry: Transportation
Annoyed By: Tyler SHeff: Fairpricedshipping (MarketRateQuote)


When has competition and breaking the law gone too far? Based on a UTi Transport Agent Tyler Sheff, it should go as far as bodily threats and physical harm.

Tyler Sheff, who has been reported online for bait and switching, seems to feel directing his anger on these actions at other companies/people. To the point where in desperation he threatens to break legs and hunt people down. Not very professional if you ask me……..

Per Tyler Sheff's remarks online:
"Run and hide bitch"
"time to feel pain"
"knowwhereyoulive"
"coming to find you"
"legs to be broken"
"you are a pussy"
"boy this is gonna hurt"

Is this the model employee that UTi Transport Solutions allows? By their corporate counsel Dennis Heil (General Counsel / VP Legal UTi Transport Solutions Inc. - a UTi Worldwide Company), yes and he has allowed it to continue.

I was told that since their company representative is an independent agent, they have no control over them. If that is the case, then it would seem that UTi has a bigger problem than rogue agents.

Where does the liability fall? Who can be liable? Does it seem UTi Worldwide allows their agents to break the laws, even when they are opening themselves to litigation by allowing and condoning illegal activity from their agents.

Logged IP addresses showing a trail of lies and threats of physical harm have been presented to Dennis Heil of UTi and his answer? Do nothing say it is not UTi's issue. Even though all agents who access UTi via computer need a static IP address, he still denies this illegal activity happened.

There have been several reports about Tyler Sheff and his "shady" practices to getting legal brokers kicked off a website so he can run his dubious practices of bait and switch.
He has also been known to purchase domain names in forms of competitor's business names as well as personal names and create slanderous blogs and pages about those people.
He has also emailed and called companies as a UTi Transport Solutions representative and lied about employees and their actions to try to get them fired from that business. UTi's response, nothing that we have seen.

Who does this really hurt? Tyler Sheff, a UTi Worldwide agent seems to think only his competitors. UTi legal counsel Dennis Heil seems to think it is not a UTi Worldwide company issue.

Tyler Sheff operates under several business names/aliases
Fairpricedshipping.com
Parcelsforward.com
eBay: parcelsforward (has been changed multiple times)
MarketRateQuote
Outboardshipping.com
Tyler Sheff Incorporated (listed under different address)
Captaintylersheff (located on Amazon but not restricted to)

On a report listed: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/384/RipOff0384668.htm
Tyler Sheff in his own words states "It is unfortunate that a competitor chooses to use slander as a tool to increase his business…. we pity them for feeling the need to resort
to such childish antics". It seems that Tyler Sheff; FairPricedshipping/UTi Worldwide agent cannot take his own sagacious advice.

Per Dennis Heils' statement about this legitimate threat of violence from a UTi Worldwide agent: "high school kids sniping at each other". Does this mean that in his high school days, he faced physical threats and violence that seems commonplace and acceptable? Was breaking someone's legs a typical school day? What a rough neighborhood he grew up in.

Authorities in multiple states have been notified that UTI Worldwide agent Tyler Sheff o Fairpricedshipping.com is the IP address owner, which was not denied my UTi. He should be held accountable for his crimes and I am sure they are working diligently to put together the pieces to make sure this type of dishonest work and more importantly, threats to do bodily harm are documented and that he be held responsible. Hopefully UTi Transport (UTi Worldwide) will take the same action and eliminate their exposure to legal proceedings do to a "rogue" UTi agent and realize that physical violence is not how most companies succeed. I have heard of Guerrilla Marketing but this is far beyond the normal scope of doing business.

So far UTi Worldwide's reaction "Obviously if you can track his IP address you have the means to block him from your site easily enough". Yea, that's what we will do, that will stop Tyler Sheff from following through on bodily harm and I can see that IP block working on my home or office front door or better yet, my 6 year old daughters' school. Thanks for your actions Dennis Heil, I feel so protected now.

I hope Eric W. Kirchner UTi worldwide's new CEO does not make company decisions based on this sage advice from UTi's lackluster crack legal team.

Unlimited Texting Plan...Not!

Location: Ontario, Ontario
Industry: Telecom
Annoyed By: Bell Canada

So I have had the unlimited texting package with Bell for well over a year now. About 7-8 months ago I called Bell to see if Facebook Mobile sending and receiving would cost anything extra they told me because I had unlimited texting I would not be charged, great I thought now I can keep in touch with my friends easier with ones that do not have cell phones. So fast forward to two months ago, I called Bell to extend my contract with them for another 3 years and my plan stayed the same. Except they were now emailing me my bill instead of me having to pay extra for a paper bill. So not receiving a bill in my inbox, I checked online about a month and a half later. 201 dollar bill!!!!!!! It was usually 45 max. So I inquire and I was charged for every facebook mobile message sent and texts sent while in digital roam (which I never was before this month). The month that I was in I was already charged about 30 extra dollars as well. So I call Bell and demand they take that off my bill. They say the best they can do is take my 20 dollar roaming charges off and that I should have been charged with the Facebook Mobile charges since the beginning and that it finally caught up with me and there is nothing they can do about it. Told them to look at my past bills before that and they would see I sent a lot and didn't get charged for them and they said they did and I was lying. So I am stuck with Bell for a while, but I definitely will not be sending Facebook Mobile texts no longer. It would have been nice for them to have sent a letter or a notification text telling me that I was being charged for them.